As Krylov makes final preparations for his showdown with
Blachowicz, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He does not like calling people out.

Krylov is not a fan of challenging anyone, pointing to his belief
that he will be compensated the same no matter who he faces.
However, he said he is more than willing to scrap with anyone who
calls him out. That is exactly what happened when he caught
Blachowicz’s attention following a rear-naked choke submission of
Francimar
Barroso in May 2016. Instead, Krylov was given different
opponents until he opted not to renew his contract with the
UFC.

2. His childhood friend designed his chest
tattoo.

Krylov has only one tattoo on his upper torso, and it is nothing
less than special. The intricate black-and-grey ink was designed by
a childhood friend who also doubled as his training partner for
many years. Unfortunately, the friend was one of the casualties of
the civil unrest in Ukraine a few years ago.

3. He comes from a family of miners.

Krylov got his nickname because his unbreakable will resembles that
of a miner trapped a thousand meters below the surface and battling
suffocation. He also actually comes from a family of miners in
Donbass, Ukraine, and in fact used to work in the industry before
he set his sights on mixed martial arts on a full-time basis.

4. He traces his martial roots to karate.

The son of an accomplished karateka, Krylov started training in
kyokushin karate at the age of 10. He eventually earned his black
belt and became a Master of Sports in the discipline and in
hand-to-hand combat. Fans only need to look at his brutal head kick
knockout of Ed Herman at
UFC 201 to confirm his strong karate background.

5. He was the first Ukranian to sign with the
UFC.

Krylov started his career in 2012 at an event in his home country.
After his impressive showing in numerous promotions in Ukraine and
Russia, he answered the call for his first Octagon apperance at UFC
164 opposite Soa Palelei.
His most recent UFC appearance came in a defeat to Misha
Cirkunov, as he left the promotion with a stellar record of
6-3. Other Ukrainians currently signed to the UFC are women’s
strawweight Maryna
Moroz and light heavyweight Alexey
Oleynik.